If you need any more evidence that times are changing in farming, look no further than a new partnership between the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and an activist group called Environmental Defence. You likely know the former. The OFA describes itself as Canada’s largest voluntary farm organization, representing more than 36,000 farm families across... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
The idea that Manitoba's commodity organizations need to work more closely together to provide more value to members — possibly going as far as merging — was formally introduced and discussed recently at CropConnect. "All these organizations, particularly in Manitoba, have basically the same membership, doing very similar projects, with the same money, going after... Read More
If new rail legislation the federal government promised to introduce this spring is to be passed before the end of the session in June, it will have to be tabled soon. "One would imagine with the legislative calendar, it's going to be have to be in the next several weeks," says Steve Pratte, rail policy... Read More
It was a great week for Canada in terms of trade on several fronts. You can say many negative things about Prime Minister Trudeau, but you cannot take away his government's effort to extend Harper's commitment to trade. There is much discussion and renegotiation to still happen, but the week of February 13th was very... Read More
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead, and Canada needs to move on to 'plan B' for increasing market access into Asia, according to Glen Hodgson, senior fellow with the Conference Board of Canada. "The Japanese are trying to keep it alive, but it's effectively dead. I do think we should be developing a 'plan B' for... Read More
How easily could your farm business absorb an added $120,000 bill? That's approximately what Jan Vanderhout, co-owner of Beverly Greenhouses, says the new Ontario carbon tax will cost him this year, or just over $6,000 per acre of greenhouse space. Vanderhout, a third-generation greenhouse grower and the chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers'... Read More
Calling this week's meeting between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump a "pre-arranged first date in an organized marriage," Conservative trade portfolio critic Gerry Ritz possibly came as close as we've heard to complementing the Prime Minister. "The first rule is 'do no harm,' and I think that's exactly what happened. Nothing got done, but... Read More
Following weeks of speculation about how President Trump views Canada and the impact his administration could have on the Canadian economy, including agriculture, every word (and handshake) was closely scrutinized during Prime Minister Trudeau's first visit to the Trump White House on Monday. "We are going to have a great relationship with Canada, maybe as... Read More
While the U.S. dairy industry has raised its voice in calling on the Trump administration to pressure Canada into allowing more dairy imports, Dairy Farmers of Canada has kept a relatively quiet profile over the last few months. The national dairy producer group appears to have chosen to stay out of the spotlight with Canada's... Read More
Maintaining the Canada-U.S. relationship following the election of Donald Trump has quickly become a top priority for the Trudeau government, adding to an already long list of issues facing the Liberals. "It's added a lot of uncertainty obviously to an already full agenda. They came to power with 300-plus promises. A very ambitious government, across... Read More